Marquette University will reopen for in-person instruction this fall, according to a university news release.
The university will have fewer students living residentially and will offer a mixture of in-person, hybrid and online learning options. Additional hybrid and online learning class sections will be added as necessary.
Later today, undergraduate students will receive information regarding options related to class “modalities.” Graduate students will receive more information later this week.
For those who take in-person classes, classroom capacities have been reduced to be lesser than 50% of total capacity, or one person per 30 square feet. In-person classes will have no more than 50 people, physically distanced. All active classrooms will be cleaned and disinfected daily.
First-year undergraduate students who choose to take a fully online course schedule will be able to waive their residential living requirement and remain in their permanent residences.
“First-year students taking any in-person or hybrid classes must stay in the university residence halls,” the release said. “First-year undergraduate students will receive an email later today with specific information and next steps.”
Sophomores will have the option to be released from their residential living requirement regardless of whether they are taking in-person or fully online classes. Sophomores will be able to live in university apartments, off campus housing or remain in their permanent place of residence.
Juniors and seniors in Marquette-operated apartments can choose to be released from their leases if they take a fully online schedule. Students with leases at the Marq or off campus apartments will have to work with individual landlords.
The university is also adding additional staff to the Marquette University Medical Clinic and contracting with other medical entities to offer additional service.
In addition, all students will be required to complete an online COVID-19 education module before the start of the semester and all students living locally will be provided a welcome kit including a Marquette cloth face mask, hand sanitizer and digital thermometer. Welcome kits will be in residence halls and several locations across campus for pick up.
Hand sanitizer and wipes will also be available all through campus.
All employees on campus will complete virtual training from Human Resources before returning. Remote work will continue for various departments to de-densify campus.
When in public and shared areas of campus, a cloth face covering must be worn. This aligns and complies with the mask ordinances in both Milwaukee and in Wisconsin. Individuals are also to stay at least six feet apart.
The university is also taking precautions regarding screening and testing for COVID-19, according to the release.
All members of the Marquette community on campus will undergo a daily screening process for COVID-19, and more information regarding this process will be shared later this week. There will also be an on-campus testing center to test symptomatic students. The center will be managed by the medical clinic in coordination with the Marquette Department of Clinical Laboratory Science.
Students who live in residence halls will have rooms to isolate infected students and quarantine close contacts as needed. Off campus students will also be able to request quarantine and isolation space if their current living situation does not allow for that space.
Members of the Marquette community are also encouraged to complete a form to voluntarily disclose whether they have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or have been exposed. There is also a coronavirus dashboard on the university’s website in order to provide transparency regarding cases on or near campus, according to the release.
Marquette is also working closely with Sodexo to reduce seating and add physically distanced seating options in dining halls, as well as increase online ordering and takeout options.
Fitness facility capacities will also be reduced and in-person meetings for events for student organizations, worship and other campus activities will be limited and planned virtually.
“It is clear the fall 2020 semester will be unlike any other in our history,” the release said. “To live the truest sense of cura personalis, we will all need to make sacrifices and change our behaviors to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and protect our community.”
This story was written by Annie Mattea. She can be reached at [email protected].
